


make me cry

by watergator



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood, Captivity, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Fluff, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Gen, Gore, Hurt/Comfort, Mentions of Blood, Mild Gore, Mild Language, Minor Matt Holt/Shiro, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Prisoners, Shatt if you squint, but its up to you i guess, hunk is smart, mentions of matt and sam, pidge is strong as hell, same with klance, shiro has flashbacks, this fic literally took me like 7 hours to write and edit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-13
Updated: 2017-02-13
Packaged: 2018-09-24 03:02:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9696809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/watergator/pseuds/watergator
Summary: Its like watching life on repeat, the feeling is all too familiar for him, overwhelming his senses like a tidal wave, dragging him under until its hard to breath.Maybe this time - maybe this will be the one Holt sibling he can save.The gang gets captured by the Galra, and Shiro can't help but feel like he's in a state of de ja vu when the youngest Paladin is put to her limit...





	

The taste of blood in his mouth was as strong as the thudding in his head, almost as if his brain was pulsating inside his skull, ready to burst at any moment, his eyelids felt like they had been weighed down, unable to pry them open from the sheer weight of them, in fact, his whole body felt heavy, like gravity was pulling him down, enough force for him to fall through the floor. It was then, that he realised he was being dragged – his arms were over his head, a familiar crushing sensation in his chest, twisting round his lungs like thick smoke, unable to breath. 

He managed to open one eye, blinking away the light that suddenly blinded his vision. And when he was able to see, it was a blur of purple, an all too familiar colour that set a whirling sensation in his stomach, that made his bones feel tired, and his heart furiously beat against his rib cage. There was no doubt in his mind that he was here because of the Galra. 

The corridor was eerily silent, which gave Shiro enough time to try and blink back into reality, to focus him mind and concentrate – the last thing he’d remembered was fighting off a fleet of Galra ships, the Castle Ship had taken a direct hit, but Coran’s voice over the comms had put him mind at ease, telling them that they were okay, but Shiro only had a second to breath because soon they were the ones on the firing line.  
The attack on the Castle was nothing but a distraction, and Zarkon had turned his weaponry on Voltron itself – if he couldn’t have it then no one could. A selfish move that could have costed Shiro and his fellow Paladins their lives.

The others.

Fear quickly flooded him like a tsunami, he didn’t see what had happened to them, he didn’t know if they had managed to escape or if they faced the same reality that Shiro was facing himself right now.  
He didn’t even know if Coran and Allura were okay, Zarkon could have easily taken them down after that huge hit he’d witnessed earlier.  
The panic was now tightening around his lungs, along with the thick smoke that seemed to settle there. 

He thought about trying to escape from the guard that had him in his vice like grip around his wrists, but he mulled it over – he had to be strategic about this, he had to be careful otherwise he could be putting everyone at more risk. Patience yields focus.  
He would have to see where he was being taken to first.

The thudding in his head calmed down to a dull ache, as he took in his surroundings – remember where you are in case of escape. There was a sickening feeling in his gut, he knew all the procedures of being held captive and they were for all the wrong reasons. 

He suddenly stopped moving, when he heard a click and the sound of a door open, then all at once, his body was jerked forward as the guard threw him forward, the Paladin, landing painfully on his back, cursing as a sharp pain rode up his spine, before the Galra clicked the door shut, and left Shiro on his back as he painfully put his arms back at his sides.

The room was filled with a thick silence, save for Shiro’s breathing until a small voice spoke out from the corner of the cell,

“Shiro?”

The Black Paladin sat up wildly, before he was looking into the familiar blue eyes of Lance, and then Hunk, and Keith and a very small looking Pidge.  
He wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or worried – relieved that they were in fact alive, or worried that they were in here with him.

“Are you all alright?” was the first thing that came to mind as he spoke, making sure to keep his tone gentle – he sadly had had experience with this kind of thing, and he subconsciously let his eyes drift to Pidge, who had her knees tucked up to her chin, almost like she was trying to curl herself into a ball and disappear somehow. And Shiro sadly had seen that before in his lifetime. 

“We’re okay,” Keith nodded at Shiro, “Just kinda shaken up” His voice dropped in volume, as his gaze went to the ground where they sat, then back at Lance and Hunk, who shot small, sympathetic smiles at each other.

“Okay” Shiro breathed, taking a small moment to collect himself – the fear from earlier was still bubbling away in his chest, threatening to rise up like vomit, but he had to put his own fears aside for a while, his younger friends came first before his own trauma. This was new for them, Shiro would have to help them through this.

“We have to work together – we are going to have to try and keep calm to figure a way out” He addressed them all, and Hunk nodded, a small determined smile creeping up on him, and Shiro smiled back – they had a fiery sprit that no Galra empire could demolish. 

“Tell us what to do Shiro” Lance spoke from his corner of the small cell,

The Black Paladin smiled gratefully, “If we all want to make it out together you’re going to have to listen, alright-“ Shiro began but was cut off from a very small voice,

“Together?” Pidge’s voice was small, yet it seemed to echo off the glowing purple walls, taking everyone aback,

“Yes Pidge, we’re all going to make it out of here together” Shiro’s voice was soft, as he put out a hand to her, a gesture of comfort but the young girl flinched back, and although the room was dimly lit, he could now see the pool of tears that had formed at the bottom of her honey coloured eyes, threatening to spill at any moment.

“You mean like Matt?” Her voice was cracking, but it had so much emotion behind it, and this time it was Shiro that flinched back, unaware of what to say.  
His eyes looked up and down at her small frame, only realising that she was shaking slightly, her chest heaved with each breath and her lips quivered, almost like she was holding back a sob.

Matt?

Shiro felt his own breath hitch, as he watched the girl struggled to breath, the sound of her rattling breath echoed in his own head, as Keith had his hands on her shoulders, her hands were now gripping into the fabric of the under garments they wore under their armour, gripping it tightly like it was her lifeline.

This was all too familiar for Shiro – the way her breath hitched, her body heaved as waves upon waves of sobs pulled her under, failing to comprehend the soft words that Keith repeated, 

“Just breath”

_“Just breath”_

_But Matt just clung to his body, his body shaking violently, his breathing was far and in-between and Shiro had one hand on his back, rubbing soothing circles, repeating the same words, waiting for the panic attack to wash over, hoping for it to be over._

_“I’m – I, I’ll never, I’m never going to see them again” Matt sobbed, hiccupping between his words, and Shiro knew who he was talking about it, it was always the same underlying fear that Matt had – and Shiro totally understood as he hushed him, pulling him closer to his chest to get him to mimic his own breathing, rocking the smaller boy into a somewhat comfortable sleep, one he knew would only last a small pocket of time before fresh new wave of nightmares hit him, but for now all he could do was try and make this current nightmare just a small bit bearable._

“Just breath, okay, in and out” Keith’s voice grounded him back to where he was, and he was blinking up at the boy who had his soul focus on the girl, who now had a steady breathing pace, and her tight grip on his arms had loosened.  
Shiro didn’t even notice the worrying glances from both Hunk and Lance, pushing his own emotions away again,

“Is she alright?” He mentally flinched at how weak his own voice his was, trying to push the mental image of his flashback of Matt away back to the depths of his mind where it could be momentarily be forgotten, but Pidge looked so much like him, she looked just as vulnerable and fearful her brother had once been. And it shook Shiro to his core. 

“She’ll be alright,” Keith spoke, his hand still on her shoulder, giving it a quick tight squeeze, “Just a small panic attack”

Pidge blinked up at Shiro, a mixture of fear and guilt evident in her expression as tears dribbled down her cheeks and a pang of hurt rang through his body as he watched her shift slightly closer to Keith, she was obviously scared, perhaps in a state of shock; but what she said wasn’t wrong. Shiro had escaped once before, and had left Matt behind in the hands of their enemy, and Pidge hadn’t had time to filter her fear, voicing her thoughts; her underlying worry that perhaps they weren’t all going to make it out of here, just another Matt.  
But Shiro wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice, this was the one Holt child he could save. He wasn’t leaving anyone behind.  
“So, what’s the plan then?” Hunk asked meekly, his fingers intertwining with each other, a habit that Shiro instantly saw as a coping mechanism of his anxiety. Everyone was fearful, and Shiro had to push that away from them and give them hope.

But before Shiro could voice his own ideas, that small little hope was quickly washed away when the sound of the door behind alerted their attention and a tall sentry took two steps in before stopping, looking at the five paladins that were sat on the floor, watching up at him with big wide eyes, and Shiro suddenly felt the hum in his right arm, ready for anything.

The Galra lunged forward, hands gripping round Pidge’s small neck, lifting her up with ease, only to spark a reaction in Keith, flying to his feet, arms reaching up to grab her from him, but soon there was a sickening crack, and Keith was sent flying backwards into the cushioning arms of Hunk, a trickle of blood from where he had been struck,

“Whatever you want – take me” Shiro yelled, his voice cracking, standing to his feet, trying to shake the nerves that wracked his body as he watched Pidge squirm in her best efforts to break free,

“The Champion has had his time” The Galra spoke in a low, sullen voice, before looking at Pidge, “This one will do fine for the entertainment” He snarled, but not before Lance has taken a swing at the purple alien, his attempts to stop him, but his fist was crushed under the weight of his boot once he too had been pushed backwards, and Shiro made a desperate scramble for the door as the smallest Paladin was dragged away, kicking and screaming – until there was silence, Keith’s ragged breathing and Lance’s whimpering, a small chocked sob from Hunk, but it was all white noise to Shiro.

She had been sent to the Gladiator Arena. She was being made to fight and Shiro didn’t know what he could do. 

“Shiro” Keith breathed, “Shiro what do we do?” He questioned their leader who was on his hands and knees, feeling as if his body could buckle at any moment and be nothing but a crumpled mess on the floor,

“What are they going to do to her?” Hunk cried, tears now leaking down his face as he sniffed, biting his bottom lip – another one of his bad anxiety habits,

“We, w- we can’t just sit here” Lance’s voice broke as he attempted to stand, using Hunk’s shoulder to heave himself up off the floor,

“Shiro, c’mon” He said, his own tears now making an appearance, but the older man didn’t move, or speak, like he was frozen in time. 

Lance walked towards the door, wincing slightly at the sharp pain creeping up his back, but brushing it aside when he saw a sentry walk past the door,

“Hey!” He called out, his good hand banging against the cool metal door, attracting his attention, causing the sentry to turn on his heel to face Lance through the tiny window,  
“Where the hell are they taking our friend?” Lance questioned, his brows furrowing in angry as his voice rose in volume.

There was a beat of silence, until the Galra spoke in a monotone voice, “You shall find out very soon” Before he left Lance, gawping at the small glass window, 

“What the hell does that mean?’ Keith grimaced as Hunk tried his best to nurse the gash on his head, 

“I don’t know” was the small whimper that came from Shiro, and Keith wasn’t sure if his friend was answering his question or perhaps voice his own internal doubt.

It wasn’t long after the sentry had left, and Lance had walked laps around the tiny cell that Hunk had hold of his arm, offering as much comfort that he could give, when the door opened again, this time Shiro moved, eyes wild as they darted looking for any sign of Pidge, but the new sentry came only with three other Galra’s, hands full of the magnetic purple cuffs, and Shiro knew that they were being moved somewhere – and with the threat of never seeing Pidge again, all four boys silently let themselves be taken away, marching in a single line like cattle being taken to their death.  
But there was a flash inside his head, like someone had taken a photograph, and it burned behind his eyes, and when he was able to open them again, blinking away the light, he knew that he recognised where they were.  
The boys were kept silent from their guards but Hunk gave a quick gaze over his shoulder, eyes speaking for him as he looked at Shiro worriedly, but Shiro could only offer a small, sad, reassuring smile back, only a fraction enough to put the boys mind at ease. 

But the creeping sensation of doom was building up in his body, threatening to drag him down like a strong ocean current, but he just had to keep his head above the water for long enough to try and figure out a plan. Patience. Yields. Focus.  
The Gladiator Arena was through that corridor to their left, and Shiro held his breath as they walked past, he had never been this far along before, last time he was here, he and Matt had been shoved into the small corridor with crowd of scared prisoners, awaiting their fate as they shuffled along, but this time they walked past the corridor and were taken to a small room, through a long hallway, up some stairs and into another dimly lit purple room.

The Galra spoke to each other in their own tongue, and Shiro desperately wished that he had picked up the language during his time in captivity, feeling like it would be a well needed skill in times like these, but all he could do was stand and wait for whatever was behind the doors in front of them.

The four Paladins were stood shoulder to shoulder, Shiro had Keith on his left, with Lance on his right and Hunk at the end, as they all shot each other worrying side glances, uncertain of what was going to happen.

The two doors swung open, bright like seeping through, and the eruption of cheers of what had to be thousands of Galra hit them. They were on the balcony, looking down at the arena, a circle of stands that held thousands upon thousands of Galra as the cheered on in their own language.

Shiro’s eyes darted wildly across the arena floor – looking for any signs of the small Green Paladin, but it seemed to be empty.  
Shiro heard a frustrated growl from his left, and looked to see Keith, his teeth gritted, as his eyes scanned the large room.

“Don’t worry – you’ll see her soon” came from one the Galra soldiers that stood near Hunk, he could obviously feed of their emotions, that the four boys were desperately looking for signs of Pidge, but the small quip from the alien had not put Shiro’s mind at ease at all. 

Shiro took a deep breath, trying to breathe through the tightness that was wrapping itself around his lungs, when the crowd roared, a wave of Galra jumping to their feet, clapping and cheering, when Shiro saw a monstrous looking creature – it had to be at least twelve-foot-tall, its shoulders were broader than all five Paladins put together, and had muscular curved arms, with eagle like talons on each of his seven fingered hand. His rocky skin, and big black eyes sent a wave of fear through Shiro, there was no way they were going to do this.

But when the cheers and claps has quickly changed to booing and slurs, Shiro saw the small figure move towards the creature, being pushed by another Galra, a gun to her back, and for a second the Black Paladin forgot how to breath.

“No” He heard the disbelief from Hunk, his brown eyes were wide; pupils just mere pinpricks as he looked on in horror, the sudden realisation dawning on him, on all of them. 

“This isn’t fair!” Keith lashed out, before being pushed back by the Galra soldier that stood by his left, a gentle reminder.

Time seemed to slow down as the familiar bells rang out, the fight had started, and from what Shiro could see, Pidge didn’t even have her Bayard or any sort of weapon, not this was a shock at all – it just didn’t seem real, seeing a small Pidge up against an absolute beast, unable to even defend herself or fight back.

It was surreal – that Matt had stood on the very same ground as her, both siblings in the same position, the same brutal nightmare, but this time Shiro really couldn’t save her.

The two contestants circled each other, the monster seemed to be sizing her up, not that it took long, because he smirked before lurching forwards, sending her flying, doing what looked like at least eight somersaults in the air, before landing in the dusty floor on her front, cringing as she landed. 

The crowd went wild with excitement, and Shiro finally understood what the sentry meant earlier – this was for their entertainment, the monster wasn’t going to kill her; he was going to make her suffer first, and then probably leave her for dead.

He tried to look away every time she took a hit, the crowd loving the action, but he couldn’t, he couldn’t pry his eyes off of her.  
Lance had his eyes squeezed shut, tiny tears leaking from them, as Hunk had his head bowed to the floor. They were utterly helpless as they watched their smallest and youngest friend be beaten and tormented. 

The monster had her small ankle in his grip now, face down in the mud as shaky arms attempted to pull her body up, but it wasn’t enough as the monster flung her small body across the stadium, crashing into the sides of the stands. Her body went still for a moment, and Shiro felt his heart fly into his throat, but he saw he move, her arm went to her side, clutching it, as she looked up at the beast which was now running at full speed at her.  
Shiro was sure his voice would be lost in the crowd but something inside him snapped and a scream crawled its way up from his gut and out of his mouth, using every inch of energy he had, to call out for her,

“YOU CAN DO IT KATIE!” 

He hadn’t even realised that he had used her real name until he said it, but her honey brown eyes caught his for a second, and he screamed again,

“YOU CAN DO IT!”

And like that, the girl seemed to roll out of the way of the oncoming crushing force that was the beast.

The crowd screamed in protest, only the four Paladins were cheering now, Lance had his eyes opened, watching Pidge do her best to dart in and out of the monsters way, using her size to her advantage,

“YES! KEEP GOING!” Lance yelled, bouncing on his feet as he watched Pidge dodge another hit, rolling out of the way,

Soon all four Paladins were yelling at the top of their lungs, not stopping when their voices got tired, cries of encouragement, watching Pidge dart in and out of the boulder like fists of the now angered beast.  
Shiro looked over at Lance who was whooping, rocking on the balls of his feet in excitement, when he saw Hunk who had his eyes on the arena, but his fingers fiddled with the magnetic shackles that bounded their hands together. The two boys made brief eye contact, Hunk giving him a knowing smile and Shiro nodded back – if anyone could wire themselves out it would be Hunk, and Pidge was buying them all the time they needed. 

But time was dragging out, and there was only so much dodging and rolling Pidge could ensure, fatigue starting to set in, not to mention her previous injuries were now catching up with her, her face scrunching up in pain as she landed on her side.

“DON’T GIVE UP NOW PIDGE” Keith yelled out, his voice cracking under the pressure he’d already given it,

She have a smile towards the balcony, and quickly dodged another fist that smashed into the ground, but as she rolled away, a large rocky foot landed on her back, earning an eruption of cheers from the crowd, and a gasp of horror from the other teens.  
She wriggled under its trap, tears prickling from the pain her body was being put under, there was only so much she could take, and now that the adrenaline was wearing off, she was sure that one more hit and she would possibly pass out or even die.

But the beast like alien didn’t crush her under his weigh like anticipated, but instead scooped her writhing body in his giant hand, giving her a quick squeeze, causing her to cry out in pain, desperate to get away, she had her eyes squeezed shut, biting her lip in some sort of attempt to help ease the pain – but she wasn’t prepared for the burning sensation that started in her lower abdomen.  
It was like static in her ears, she couldn’t hear the crowd, she couldn’t hear her friends, just the crackle of static, and her own laboured breathing.  
She felt a warm liquid sensation in her mouth, and when the sharp pain in her stomach seemed to twist, she screamed out in pain, gurgling on her own blood that had found itself up her throat, only now tasting the metallic taste, her brain finally catching up on what had happened when she looked down to see a long talon lodged into her stomach, her flesh ripped open as she faltered in the monsters grip, feeling weak, like her very being was starting to drift away. 

She didn’t hear Shiro scream her name, followed by the others, she didn’t even feel herself being dropped to the floor when her hand folded into a fist, grasping for anything, only to find dirt and dust.  
She didn’t see Hunk break free from his restraints, or how his body moved with such force like a mountain, single handily taking out the four Galra on the balcony, just because of pure rage, before ripping the others free.

She couldn’t comprehend the chaos as Shiro sliced his was through as many Galra as possible, or the way Keith was sprinting towards her, Lance screaming bloody murder behind him, and she really felt like she was floating for a second before she realised that she was in Keith’s arms, and he was running as fast as his legs would take him. 

Their voices sounded like she was listening from underwater, groggy and watery.  
Her body felt so heavy, yet she felt so light, it didn’t make sense, and she wondered if this was what dying felt like. Her eyes slid shut before she could see that they had reached an escape pod.

“GO, GO GO GO” Lance ushered Hunk anxiously as the Yellow Paladin started the pod up, bringing it to like, and without hesitation, moving it as fast as they could.  
They jerked backwards at the sudden speed, but soon Hunk had control of the pod, darting in and out of fire, his tongue poking out in an act of concentration – he so desperately wanted to get out of here.

Keith had Pidge layed on the floor of the pod, her head in his lap as Lance shuffled forward on his knees to the girl,

“There’s just – there’s so much blood” Keith whimpered, his hands hovering over her torn, bleeding stomach, his face was white with fear,

“GO LEFT HUNK” Shiro commanded, helping the boy navigate his way out,

Lance looked up and Keith and back down at Pidge, who was breathing long shallow breaths,  
“Keith” he spoke, a finger tapping on his cheek, and rounded watery purple eyes looked up,

“I’m gonna need you to focus and help me here” He demanded, but his tone was still soft – he was obviously in some state of shock.

After a quick nod from Keith, his bangs waving across his eyes, Lance wasted no time ripping the sleeve off of his own undergarment, wrapping it into a ball he shoved it into Keith’s hands,  
“Here, put as much pressure onto the wound as possible” He said, before shuffling towards her head, and Keith did exactly as he was told, but it wasn’t long before the fabric was quickly soaking with blood. 

But before Keith could comment on that, Lance muttered, “Shit, shit, shit, oh shit”

Keith’s brain was lagging and didn’t even have time to ask questions before Lance looked up at him wildly,

“NEXT RIGHT HUNK” Came Shiro’s voice from behind them.

The Blue Paladin, quickly took the fabric from Keith’s shaking hands, tying it around the girls waist, making sure to double knot,

“Keith listen to me okay, this is really important that you listen,” Lance spoke quickly, eyes darting from Keith to Pidge, as he tilted her head back, fingers delicately placed on her chin,

“I’m going to need you to press down on her chest thirty times alright – do it to the theme of Stayin Alive”

Fear quickly took over Keith as tears welled up, “What if I can’t?” He sobbed, arms flailing,

“DOWN THAT CORRIDOOR” Shiro commanded,

Lance pursed his lips, before putting a hand on Keith’s shaking shoulder,  
“Yes you can” 

Keith nodded, putting his own fears in the back of his mind to bring his small friend back to life.  
He pressed down, thirty times on her chest, feeling the shift of what he assumed was broken ribs, but Lance assured him to keep going when the Red Paladin hesitated.  
After thirty chest compressions, Lance has his lips on hers, blowing in one, and then again, her little wrist between his fingers, checking for a pulse, shaking his head and Keith continued.  
This went on for a while, an exchange of chest compressions, Lance trying to breathe life into her that the shouts from Shiro and Hunk had died out.

They had made it, they had gotten away from the Galra – they were free, yet here Pidge was, her tiny pale form lay coldly and unmoving on the floor of their pod, it just wasn’t fair.

Shiro and Hunk had gathered round trying to help, but no matter how many chest compressions and mouth to mouth they gave her, her heart wouldn’t start up again, the fabric that was tied around her middle had been absorbed in blood, and very quickly, anger took over Keith, his hands turning into fists, as with each pump, he slammed against her rib cage, screaming for her to get up, because there was no way in hell she doing this now. 

And Shiro very nearly pulled him away, when Keith gave a last hit against her chest, when suddenly her eyes were open and she was gasping for breath, four pairs of arms pulling her up to sit up straight, as he took in much needed gulps of air, the sound of her breathing and the others crying in a sad state of relief was what filled the pod. 

Allura and Coran ushered them back into the ship, and Shiro didn’t think it was possible to feel that warm when wrapped up in the Princess’ arms.  
Pidge was quickly sent to the healing pods, and it seemed natural for them to all huddle round the tube, sitting there, faces pressed up against the glass, waiting in anticipation for her to wake up, even though Allura had mentioned that with injuries like she had received it could take weeks of healing until she was ready to come out.

They had been sat round her healing pod, watching her float comfortably as her wounds healed, when Keith sat up from where he was leaning against the cool of the glass, looking over at Lance who was sat next to him, eyes closed as he had his back to her,

“How’d you know how to do that?” He questioned the boy who had now opened his eyes to look at him,

“Do what?” He asked back, shifting in his seat, raising an eyebrow,

“All that CPR stuff” Keith nodded and Lance’s lips formed into a smile,

“Mi mama, she’s a doctor, guess I learnt some stuff from her growing up” Lance smiled fondly,

“That’s pretty cool” Keith replied, pressing the back of his head on the glass again, and Lance mirrored his action, closing his eyes again,

“Yeah, it is”  


Shiro sat in the cushioned room that was dubbed as their lounge, the small paper in his hands, holding it as delicately as he dared. The resemblance between the two siblings was uncanny – he’d always seen that, their eyes were the first giveaway, that honey brown colour that ran through their hair too, and sometimes Pidge would smile and Shiro would swear he was looking at Matt. The way she would laugh sometimes, her nose crinkled up just like his did, and it did something funny to his heart, a mixture of happiness and utter pain.  
But today something had changed, Shiro always felt as if Pidge had needed protecting, like it was some sort of repayment for Matt and Commander Holt, Shiro had always had this feeling like he needed to repay Pidge back for what he had done, for losing them, but today he realised that perhaps Pidge didn’t need saving; she’d proved that she was strong in different ways, like in the Gladiator Arena, and strong mentally, holding on for what life was worth.  
His thumb ghosted over Matt’s face. He just hoped that they were similar in more than just looks, and that Matt, wherever he was, didn’t need saving either, because he could be strong too.


End file.
